Photo Copyright Denis Poroy for USA TODAY Sports
On July 8, 2023, the Washington Spirit and the San Diego Wave played to a 2-2 draw in Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego. The Spirit got on the board early in that match, scoring in the 23rd minute and holding the lead through halftime. San Diego found its equalizer in the 46th, then conceded an own goal, before tying the game in the final minute of regulation.
“This felt like a playoff game,” former head coach Mark Parsons said to reporters after the game in 2023. “We were playing a team that was also desperate for a win. It was intense from the 10th, 12th minute … we had to deal with a lot of stretched pressure.”
But this game last summer wasn’t a playoff game. And neither was June 15th’s game between the Spirit and the Wave in Washington. Sunday night’s match, the team’s third meeting in 14 months, was also not. But in all three, the two sides have played to a hard-fought draw.
The Spirit, who sit in second place in the NWSL table, seem to have found a…
